Glasdegib: A Novel Hedgehog Pathway Inhibitor for Acute Myeloid Leukemia

Urea-based anticancer agents. Exploring 100-years of research with an eye to the future

Suramin was the first urea-based drug to be approved in clinic, and in the following century a number of milestone drugs based on this scaffold were developed. Indeed, urea soon became a privileged scaffold in medicinal chemistry for its capability to establish a peculiar network of drug−target interactions, for its physicochemical properties that are useful for tuning the druggability of the new chemical entities, and for its structural and synthetic versatility that opened the door to numerous drug design possibilities. In this review, we highlight the relevance of the urea moiety in the medicinal chemistry scenario of anticancer drugs with a special focus on the kinase inhibitors for which this scaffold represented and still represents a pivotal pharmacophoric feature. A general outlook on the approved drugs, recent patents, and current research in this field is herein provided, and the role of the urea moiety in the drug discovery process is discussed form a medicinal chemistry standpoint. We believe that the present review can benefit both academia and pharmaceutical companies’ medicinal chemists to prompt research towards new urea derivatives as anticancer agents.

Recent Research Progress of Chiral Small Molecular Antitumor-Targeted Drugs Approved by the FDA From 2011 to 2019

Chiral drugs usually contain chiral centers, which are present as single enantiomers or racemates. Compared with achiral drugs, they have significant advantages in safety and efficacy with high stereoselectivity. Of these drugs, chirality not only exerts influence on the solubility and pharmacokinetic characteristics but also has specific mechanistic characteristics on their targets. We noted that small molecules with unique chiral properties have emerged as novel components of antitumor drugs approved by the FDA in decade. Since approved, these drugs have been continuously explored for new indications, new mechanisms, and novel combinations. In this mini review, recent research progress of twenty-two FDA-approved chiral small molecular-targeted antitumor drugs from 2011 to 2019 is summarized with highlighting the potential and advantages of their applications. We believe that these updated achievements may provide theoretical foundation and stimulate research interests for optimizing drug efficacy, expanding clinical application, overcoming drug resistance, and advancing safety in future clinical administrations of these chiral targeted drugs.

Identification of Protein Biomarker Signatures for Acute Myeloid Leukemia (AML) Using Both Nontargeted and Targeted Approaches

Acute myeloid leukemia (AML) is characterized by an increasing number of clonal myeloid blast cells which are incapable of differentiating into mature leukocytes. AML risk stratification is based on genetic background, which also serves as a means to identify the optimal treatment of individual patients. However, constant refinements are needed, and the inclusion of significant measurements, based on the various omics approaches that are currently available to researchers/clinicians, have the potential to increase overall accuracy with respect to patient management. Using both nontargeted (label-free mass spectrometry) and targeted (multiplex immunoassays) proteomics, a range of proteins were found to be significantly changed in AML patients with different genetic backgrounds. The inclusion of validated proteomic biomarker panels could be an important factor in the prognostic classification of AML patients. The ability to measure both cellular and secreted analytes, at diagnosis and during the course of treatment, has advantages in identifying transforming biological mechanisms in patients, assisting important clinical management decisions.